The journey of each certification, before going public
Every company or tourism-territorial manager «destination» that you find in this repository with Biosphere certification has passed a verification process carried out by Biosphere Responsible Tourism S.L. (BRT), the body that independently certifies compliance with the Biosphere Scheme. On this page we explain, step by step, what that process is like: what journey an entity follows from the moment it decides to become certified with BRT's services, until its profile is published here, and what our role is as a certification body. If you want to find out in more detail who we are and what the scheme behind each certification is, you can read more on our page Who we are.
From the first piece of evidence to your certificate
The entire certification process with Biosphere Responsible Tourism takes place in a single location: the platform Biosphere Sustainable, the tool we have developed to manage it from start to finish, 100 % online and in 7 languages. The first step, completely free of charge, consists of creating a user and the profile of your entity —a hotel, a restaurant, a tourism-territorial manager— and assigning it the certification scheme under which it wants to verify its good practices; at present, we offer our certification services only for the Biosphere Scheme.
Once registered, the platform itself guides the entity through the criteria of that scheme, with a simple and intuitive way of working designed so that the entire process can be completed autonomously: it is in that same virtual environment that the entity must upload the documents and evidence of the sustainability actions it carries out.
Once that documentation has been completed, an external and independent audit team reviews each piece of evidence provided and verifies its compliance against the scheme's criteria. It is on the basis of the outcome of that audit, and only then, that BRT decides on the granting of the certificate, establishing its scope —which specific actions are certified— and its validity period. From that moment on, the entity's profile becomes part of this public repository, with the information documented and verified in its latest audit so that anyone interested can consult it.
What we certify
What we assess is compliance with the Biosphere Scheme of the Institute for Responsible Tourism (RTI). Biosphere Responsible Tourism is the body competent to issue the corresponding certificate, based on the actions that each entity documents in its certification process —all documentation is submitted on the platform and verified in the corresponding external audits— as well as the level of compliance achieved, as set out by the scheme itself:
Committed Level
Identifies companies that have met the basic requirements of the Biosphere Scheme and have obtained this initial certification level for the scope and validity period indicated. Check each entity's profile to verify the status, scope and validity of its certificate.
A real involvement with sustainability
Entities that have implemented and demonstrated their good practices, which is why they have our guarantee seal. With Biosphere Certified you can trust that sustainable efforts have been checked and verified by the audit team.
If you want to find out in detail the criteria for each level, and any other relevant information related to it, you can consult the Biosphere Scheme directly on the website of the Institute for Responsible Tourism. This will let you get an idea of whether your entity already has enough actions in place to reach one of the Biosphere certification levels, without needing to start the certification process.
Biosphere Certification for Companies
Manage and document your sustainability actions under the Biosphere Scheme with our platform and certification service
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